Michael Vick: the most polarizing man in sports

If you want to get a reaction out of someone just say the name Michael Vick. Even non sports fans have an opinion on this guy. Whether it be his dog fighting scandal or his NFL career which was described as “Play-Doh — an amorphous hunk that you can shape however you want” by Bill Simmons in his article on Grantland(which was my inspiration to write this blog).

Michael Vick leaves game after suffering a concussion against the Cowboys on November 11, 2012. (Yong Kim / AP)

The definition of polarizing is “To cause to concentrate about two conflicting or contrasting positions” or in other words, Mike Vick’s career in a nutshell. It’s whatever you want to make of it. Some say he’s been underrated his whole career and hasn’t had the talent around him to be as successful as he could be. Then there’s others like me who are dumbfounded how he still has a job in the NFL after not being able to properly read defenses for over 10 years and was never an elite passer from within the pocket. I give Vick his due as one of, if not the best rushing quarterback of all time. His inability to develop as a passer is why I don’t buy into the hype his fanbase does.

There’s nothing that tells me that a guy like Vince Young couldn’t have had a better NFL career then Vick if he was given the opportunity to fail as many times as Vick has. People are so focused on Vick’s athleticism(which is so rare I can see how people are distracted by it) that we choose to ignore his flaws, he’s never been consistently accurate, he’s injury prone, and hasn’t ever actually proved his mental toughness on the field(or off of it not having common sense to not become involved with a dogfighting ring), and has never had that defining moment in his career

Over the weekend the Eagles lost to the rival Cowboys in a game that might be the first of many signs that Vick and coach Andy Reid’s tenure with the team might end sooner then later unless there’s a major turnaround. Vick suffered yet another injury and rookie backup Nick Foles got his chance to play. Most Fans see Foles as the future of the franchise and some are looking for the future to start as soon as possible. Due to Vick’s injury Foles will start in this coming weekends game.

I’m hard on Mike Vick because there has never been a player with a higher ceiling. He’s done great things in his career, and has successfully re-built his life out of prison and should be commended for it. But I can’t help but feel like his immense talent has never truly surfaced since he was taken with the first pick of the 2001 NFL draft.